An off beat look at Indonesian and South East Asian football from the terraces or the pub

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Sunday, May 12, 2013

Year Of The Dragon

The Chinese Year of the Dragon ended on 9 February but no
one seems to have told the world of football. For as this season approaches its
climax it is clubs and players from Wales, traditionally associated with their
dragons of their own who are pushing the envelope.

Cardiff City have just been crowned Champions of the
Championship and look forward to Premier League football for the first time in
their history. For those with long memories Cardiff were the first ‘foreign’
club in the 20th century to lift a trophy after they defeated
Arsenal in the 1927 FA Cup Final at Wembley.

The last 40 years or so have been less glorious for the team
from South Wales and they have flirted with life in the lowest tier of all but
for the fans who stood on their famous old Bob Bank at Ninian Park through the
dark years they can now look forward to hosting teams like Manchester United,
not Oldham Athletic.

The season began controversially for Cardiff when the
Malaysian owners decided to change the club colours from blue to red igniting
an outcry from traditionalists for whom Cardiff should always be blue. The
Malaysians though were eying the Asian market and felt red and a stronger
association with dragons would play better with their target audience so
tradition went out of the window.

Cardiff will join Swansea City in the Premier League and for
the first time in the history of the Premier League a derby match will take
place outside of England. They have of course met many times before but in
lower divisions; a new generation of fans will be exposed to South Wales
rivalry at its most intense.

Swansea City of course have plenty to crow about themselves
having just lifted the Capitol One Cup (League Cup) for the first time in their
history and they look forward to a year in the Europa Cup next season looking
to showcase the silky skills of Michu and co.

Once upon a time there were four welsh clubs in the English
league (the other is Wrexham) but that came to an end in 1988 when Newport
County were relegated from the old Division Four (now known as League Two) only
to go bankrupt a year later.

They reformed in 1989 and have spent the last 20 plus years
working their way back up the non leagues that make up the English football
pyramid.

By 2012 they were back on the brink of the big time. They
reached the FA Trophy Final, non league football’s FA Cup Final, only to be
beaten 2-0 by York City. Ahead of the next season it was announced a multi
million pound lottery winner, Les Scadding, was to take over as chairman adding
a fairytale element to Newport’s resurgence.

They finished third in the Conference, English football’s
unofficial fifth division, and after overcoming Grimsby Town in a play off they
met Wrexham in the Final at Wembley Stadium, the first time two Welsh teams had
met at the famous venue..

It was to be an emotional afternoon in North London for
County. Two goals right at the death by Christian Jolley and Aaron O’Connor
finally broke the spell and almost 25 years in the football wilderness came to
an end leaving the County fans in fine voice all the way back to South Wales.

While Wrexham, who were wearing red and sported a dragon as
a nickname long before Cardiff’s Malaysian owners went down that route, may
have missed out on a return to League Two which they left in 2008, they have in
their own way been able to add to Wales’ glory filled few months. They defeated
Grimsby Town on penalties in the FA Trophy Final and will look forward to next
season in good shape under Andy Morrell.

The success hasn’t ended there with Welsh international
Gareth Bale winning the PFA Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year and
the FWA Footballer of the Year.

A phenomenal year for Welsh football then and one never
likely to be repeated.